Its a Dogs Life

How do you convince your dog that he is really just a dog?  Although Buddy Barker spends the majority of his day doing dog like things like barking, licking, stealing socks from the laundry, oh yea, and I almost forgot, having a loose BM all over the rug under my kitchen table which I had to replace today to the tune of $100 - but that's beside the point.  He's really a pampered pooch.  So much so that we move out of HIS way when he is standing by the kitchen sink and I get growled at when I try to remove him from MY bed at night.  But most of all he won't go outside.  All our neighbors dogs are happily roaming their yards during the day, but not Buddy. Sequoia - Buddy's friend - actually sleeps outside - even on these cold Colorado nights, but not Buddy.  No -  he stands at the door and just barks or stares sadly inside.  I know he's thinking, "I don't belong out here with all these animals."  Well today he got his first lesson in what is it like to really be a dog.  Because of the whole rug fiasco I got a bug to deep clean my house - go figure!  So while I was cleaning away I decided that Buddy could hang out with his friends outdoors (it was a nice day today) but this is what he did for a whole hour - until I took pitty on him, let him in, gave him a delicious treat, and fluffed his favorite pillow on my comfy bed!  It's truly a dog's life!